June 19, 2026 • 33 mins
Travis Paulson, a farmer from Wallace, South Dakota, joins David Wheeler to discuss the complexities of modern farming and the agricultural industry. With a background in construction management, Travis shifted to farming after taking over his family farm following his father's passing. He shares insights into the challenges farmers face today, including rising land prices and the impact of lost markets, particularly with China. The conversation also highlights the launch of his agronomic business, Yieldmax Agronomics, which focuses on precision agriculture and liquid fertility solutions. As they delve into the political landscape, Travis emphasizes the importance of supporting candidates like Brian Bengs, who he believes genuinely represent the interests of farmers and the agricultural community.
Takeaways:
- Travis Paulson shares his journey from construction management to taking over the family farm.
- The agricultural landscape in America is changing, with family farms facing increasing challenges.
- In South Dakota, farmers are struggling to compete with rising land prices and market fluctuations.
- Travis emphasizes the importance of integrity and honesty in politics, particularly in agriculture.
- He discusses the impact of foreign relations on the agriculture industry, especially regarding soybean exports.
- The precision agriculture business is evolving, and Travis and his son are at the forefront of this change.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Mankato State University
- South Dakota State University
- Precision Planting
- Mutiny Crop Performance
- Yieldmax Agronomics
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey folks, David Wheeler herewith MUCK YOU!. It's another episode
of the Brian Bengs week and wehave a guest from South Dakota today,
Travis Paulson. How are you, Travis?
Doing well, thank you, David.
Good. Where are you located?
So I'm, my hometown isWallace. Very small rural town. I'm
about 20 miles northwest ofWatertown, northeast part of the
(00:23):
state.
Okay. Wow, you're almost inNorth Dakota.
A bit, A bit from there. Anhour I could be there.
Yeah. All right. Well, yeah,people don't realize South Dakota
is really a big state. Fromwhere Brian lives down. I think he's
down in the south west corner. Correct.
(00:43):
Hot springs. Yeah. Out in theBlack Hill.
Yeah. So he's, he said he'ssix hours to Sioux Falls so that,
you know, that's pretty big state.
It is, yeah.
So tell us a little bit aboutyourself and your connection to Brian
and, and what you're doingthere in South Dakota.
Sure. So I'm so my backgroundactually my degree is in construction
(01:05):
management. I went to MankatoState University in, in the early
90s for, for constructionmanagement and, and received my degree
there. And actually I that. Sothat was, that was my plan for life
is to be in, in the managementpart of the construction industry.
And a handful of years laterin the year 2000, so 26 years ago
(01:28):
already my, my dad lost his,lost his battle to cancer. And so
I did a lot of soul searchingand decided that, that I was going
to come back and take over thefarm that I grew up on. So we moved
back here with small child andfamily and began took over the farm.
(01:51):
And so my background kind ofis twofold and when I did move back,
I like I said, took over thefarm and I also started a business
designing and building customhomes as a project manager and as
a general contractor. So didboth of those for a number of years.
So I have a background in bothin home building and in agriculture.
(02:17):
So number of years after thatit just got to be too difficult to
run both businesses and to doboth. It was with children, three
kids and two careers. It wasjust a little much. And I did get
the opportunity to expand thefarm and gain some acres and so I
(02:40):
did that and let the buildinggo it. So that's just in a nutshell,
that's, that's kind of mybackground. So for the last 26 years
I've. I've been farming the,the family farm here.
Wow, that's a lot of historyand a lot of ups and downs and sideways.
I'm sure for sure yeah, yeah,you know, I, folks, folks know. Listeners
(03:02):
on MUCU know I'm a formerIowan. I'm not a farmer. My dad used
to work farms on summers whenhe was out of school up in Centerpoint,
Iowa. And I grew up withfarmers. They're all wrestlers, but
tough guys, but good naturedfolks for the most part and have
(03:22):
deep respect for farmers andfolks that make their living off
the land. So tell us a littlebit about your farm and I guess what
do you produce and how big is it?
Yeah, so we mainly row cropfarmers. So we, my, my son and I
(03:45):
raise corn and soybeans andalso hay. So that's, we don't have
any, any livestock. So it'sjust, just the row crop. And then
in the last year here, my sonand I, which we've been planning,
I guess for the last couple ofyears and kind of building, we launched,
Launch. Launched an agronomicbusiness that, that kind of went,
(04:07):
kind of went live here aboutJanuary 1st of this year. We, we
kind of started full timedoing that. So he graduated. My son
graduated from South DakotaState University. Jackrabbit's there
with a degree in, in precisionag and a couple of minors, agronomy
and ag business. And so like Isaid, we've kind of been planning
(04:30):
to launch this when he, youknow, upon his graduation. So he's
been very active in the farm.But so, so we're doing that as well
here. Just kind of, kind ofbuilding, starting slow and building.
But we're looking forward to,to really moving that forward. So
from an agronomic and an agbusiness standpoint, as well as the
ag production side.
Cool. So how many acres areyou working?
(04:52):
I've got about 1500 acres.
Oh, my goodness. Wow, that's.That's a pretty big farm. Well, it's
not big compared to thecorporate farms that are out.
Not anymore it's not.
Yeah, well, when I was a kid,you know, we used to walk beans and,
you know, get out the rogueplants, and I don't think we walked
1500 acres. Goodness sakes. SoI worked for my summers. I'd worked
(05:16):
for DeKalb, you know, as akid, which I would never recommend.
I mean, it's the worst, as youknow. That is tough, tough work.
Right? So tell us, tell me a little.
Bit more about your. We'lltalk about Brian Bengs here in a
minute, but I'm fascinated byyour agronomics business. Tell me
more about that. And where canfolks go learn more if they're interested?
(05:37):
Well, I appreciate that. Soyeah, actually we're. So for the
last about eight years we gotinvolved with precision planting,
which is, which is a hugeinternational company now that, that,
that specializes in, in theprecision side of, of agriculture
planters and, and sprayersand, and all kinds of applicators
and different precisionelectronic precision equipment. So
(06:01):
we have, we started puttingthe precision stuff on our planter
about eight years ago andwe've continued to expand it. And
so both my son Ethan and Ihave, have had several years of experience
dealing with, with theprecision side. So we are the premier
precision planting dealer inthe area here. It's kind of an open
area, so it fits well.There's, we're kind of in a hole
(06:23):
here where there isn't aprecision planting dealer. And so
farmers that, that haveprecision products have to have to
travel a ways or if they needservice calls, they, they've got
to have somebody come quite aways to help them. So it's, it's
a good fit for us. Ethan likeI say, just received his degree in
precision ag. So, but, so weare a precision planning dealer.
(06:45):
We sell and service and buildplanters and sell parts and service
and, and then on the secondhalf of our business we. Another
thing that we've been activein a number of years is liquid fertility.
We've been kind of in, inconjunction with the precision planning,
the application method. So we,we I guess like to say that we, we
(07:06):
sell the equipment, the bestequipment to apply seed and fertility
and then we sell the fertilityto go along with it. So we work mainly
with a company in Kentuckycalled Mutiny Crop Performance and
I guess a couple other verywell respected agronomists that,
that offer a line of, of kindof biological and micronutrients
(07:31):
and I mean just all kinds ofwell renowned liquid fertility products.
So we like, like the idea,that kind of the environmental idea
of putting, putting thefertility right in the ground, you
know, right near the seedwhere it needs to be, rather than
spreading it out all over thefield. So, so that's kind of, I guess
(07:51):
it's not much of a nutshell Ikind of carried on there, but the
precision planning and liquidfertility to go with it. So that's,
that's kind of what theagronomic business is about.
Well, it's, I think it's, Ithink it's fascinating and I think
our listeners will beinterested to learn more about this.
Do you, do you guys have awebsite or anything?
Yeah, of course. Yep, we do.So it's, and it's the name of the
(08:14):
company is YieldmaxAgronomics. And so it's just simply
yieldmaxagronomics.com.
Okay, cool. Well, for anybodythat's interested in learning a little
bit more about progressivethinking in ag, check that out. These
guys are on. Sounds likeyou're on the leading edge of technology
and some of the bio productswithin ag as well. So let's pivot,
(08:39):
if you don't mind, to ourfriend, mutual friend, Brian Bengs.
How do you know Brian?
So I met Brian when he was. Hewas running for office for the US
Senate in, well before yearsago, in 2022. Got to, got to know
Brian a little bit andsupported his campaign at that time.
(09:00):
And the more I got to knowBrian, the more I realized we have
a very similar way of thinkingand similar concepts of how we think
the government should run andhow we as far as value system. The
more we talk, the more Idecide that we're really on the same
(09:23):
page with a lot of thosethings. So yeah, our relationship
launched and in 2022 there and2122 and, and I was very supportive
of his campaign then and soif, if grown to, to be a friend of,
of Brian's and we like I saywe're just very much on the same
page the more we talk.
Well, hopefully he's on thesame page with a lot more South Dakotans
(09:46):
this time. It sounds like he'sdoing pretty well. Tell me about,
without. I don't want to gettoo personal, but you say you've
got similar values and tell meabout what you see in Brian and,
and the values that you see inhim. We're trying to get folks to
know Brian a little bit betterand, and you seem to take in a shine
(10:08):
to him when he was acandidate. And so I think you've
got some credibility on this.Where do you see and what do you
see in Brian?
So the biggest thing, I don'tknow about the biggest thing, but
one of the first things Iguess that come to mind is, is, I
mean we're, we both agree andI, and I think a lot of people agree
that we're very uncomfortablewith the direction that our country
(10:32):
is going here as far as, asfar as government goes. It just,
it isn't the country that,that our founding fathers designed
it to be, in my opinion. Andit just, and I think the. So that
you know that that's thebiggest thing. But there it just
seems like the, the moralcharacter of our country and of our
(10:57):
government is going the wrongway. And you know, that's one of
the main areas that Brian andI agree on. And there's several pieces
that go into that, but I justthink it continues to get worse here.
And until we make some seriouschanges, that's not going to, it's
not going to turn around andimprove here. And I think, you know,
(11:21):
we need honesty and integrity.Those are two things that we need
in our, in our government andwe're just, we're losing it. And
I think that the two partysystem is promoting those, the party
politics that are doing thatand both parties are responsible
for it. The party that's inpower in Washington right now, I
(11:44):
think is, is very responsiblefor it and is supporting, you know,
the kind of behavior that,that Brian and I both, you know,
are not okay with. So that's,I guess what comes to mind first.
Well, I, I think you're goingto get a lot of heads nodding in
agreement from our listenershere on mucu. And let me just remind
(12:05):
folks, we're talking to TravisPaulson who's in Wallace, South Dakota,
a farmer and in the agbusiness and a friend of Brian Bang's
during Brian Bang's week hereon mucu. So you're, you're in ag,
you're deep into ag, you're inag country. Probably couldn't be
in more, more of a farmingarea in this country. What, what's
(12:30):
on the minds of farmers, youknow, without getting too deep into
politics. But you know, what,what are you hearing from your customers
and from your fellow farmersthere in South Dakota about, you
know, a little bit more on,you know, where they think the country's
headed and the problems thatag is facing right now?
(12:51):
Well, the, the mostdisappointing thing is and frustrating
is it seems like we in thisindustry continue to, to work harder,
but you know, we need to finda way to work smarter. But the, the
really disappointing aspect isthat we work extremely hard year
(13:13):
round and for a good chunk ofthe year, a lot of us are working
seven days a week to produce acrop that's robust and safe. And
at the end of the year, thereare years that we don't make anything.
We actually lose money after,after working, working hard, diligently
(13:37):
for an entire year. Andthere's so many ups and downs, but
it's getting more and moredifficult to make a living doing
this. And you know, this usedto be, I, I remember conversations
with my grandpa many years agoand he would talk about, you know,
one story he told was, was hebought a piece of land once, I don't
know, you Know when it was, ifit was in the, the forties maybe
(13:59):
or something. And his dadthought he was just crazy for what
he, for what he paid for it.And he, he said he, he planted flax
to it that first year and hesaid he had a, a bumper flax crop
and, and there was a goodprice for flax that year and he,
he paid off the land after oneyear of farming it. And it, and it's
(14:21):
just crazy to think thatnowadays that, I mean, the price
of land is such that you can'tget a return on the investment anymore.
I mean, you can't make. Itjust, it doesn't pencil out. It's
not going to pay for itself.So it's become really disappointing,
like I say, to work hard allyear long and make very little if
(14:45):
not losing money.
And what is in your area, whatis an acre of cropland these days?
Well, there was a sale not toolong ago, I guess, and a, a quarter
of land, 160 acres of landsold for over $12,000 an acre.
Holy guacamole.
Yeah. And that, that was justa handful of miles from me here.
(15:09):
So. And I know, you know, downin your area or down in, you know,
in the Iowa area, there's manysales for 15 to 20,000 and over $20,000
an acre. And that's, there'sone way that, that's going to, that,
that pencils out so.
Right. And what's that, what'sdriving that price?
I mean, there are, I'd like tosay that they're just investors and,
(15:32):
you know, very wealthy peoplethat, that are buying it for hunting
and those things. But it's,it's not, it's. A lot of them are
farmers and I think they'refarmers that have old money that
have paid for land and they'reinvesting in the future of future
generations, you know, theirgrandkids and their grandkids, kids,
(15:53):
so that they have land tofarm. But you know, the biggest thing
is land is one of those thingsthat we're never going to get any
more of. So it's, you know,you can't make more land. And so
I think that's just to keepthese farms going, they have to get
bigger. And that's, you know,when we started this out and the
number of acres and like Isaid, it's my size of farm is not
(16:17):
very big anymore at all. Soyou gotta keep getting bigger or
you don't keep up.
Right, right. And I think oneof the things, you know, you touched
on the business of Farming.You know, I don't know much about
farming at all, but I knowthree things. Number one, it's darn
hard work and you're up beforethe sun rises and many times coming
(16:38):
home when the sun's comingdown or dark already. The second
thing I don't think peoplerealize is, you know, it's a very
dangerous business too. It'snot like, you know, you're out there
with a hoe and a rake. I meanyou're out there with some really
heavy equipment. Many timesfolks are raising livestock. That's
not easy. And thirdly, I don'tthink realize people really understand
(17:00):
that you guys are smallbusiness, not small, sometimes big
businesses, but you guys arebusinesses. You're not just guys
out there, you know, milk andcows to have milk on the table. You
know, these are big importantbusinesses to this country. And I
think farmers many times aremisunderstood. You know. What are
your thoughts on those three areas?
(17:23):
It absolutely is. I meananybody that I remember years ago,
you know, just explaining justto, to, to some friends of mine and
you know, they were, I can'tremember if it was planting or harvest.
I think it was planting seasonand they were asking questions and
they had no idea, you know,the, what goes into planting an acre
(17:45):
of corn. Both, I guess the,you know, from the precision side
we had, we have, have a lot oftechnology going into it. But they
had no idea. He said, youknow, I, I just thought you, you
stuck corn in the ground andthen waited till fall and harvested
it. But the, I mean there isso much more that goes into it and,
and it is absolutely abusiness. I spend plenty of time
(18:05):
in the office, you know, aswell. So you have to, and if you're,
if you're not watching yourcosts and, and knowing what your
break even costs are andknowing when to, you know, when to
sell the grain and when to buythe inputs. And there is a lot that
goes into it. So yeah, ifyou're not managing it like a business,
(18:27):
it's, you're, you're, you're,you're probably not going to do well.
Yeah. And your, your son Ethancoming back into the family farm
is an anomaly. I mean a lot ofkids obviously come off the farm
and, and go to college or goto the cities. So good on him for
coming back to help dad andmom with farm and, and investing
(18:49):
his time and effort there.He's probably coming in at a good
time in that this technology'sgoing to take off and the company
that you've aligned yourselfwith is going to grow significantly,
too. So, all right, let'spivot back to Brian Bengs again.
So let's say Brian getselected, which I think he has the
(19:09):
opportunity to, and it's, it'sa tough road to hoe, but, you know,
there is a path there if wecan get this Democrat to stand down.
What sort of things in the agspace or even broader than that are
you looking at? Are you hopingBrian will tackle?
I think, you know, one of thethings that is really dragging our
(19:31):
economy of agriculture downright now is obviously foreign relations.
And we need congresspeople inWashington that understand that and
that are answering or, youknow, taking actions congressionally
that actually benefit thepeople and not the people that are
(19:54):
funding their campaigns. Andthat's what's going on right now
is we have far too manycongressmen and like I said, on both
sides of the aisle that arebeholden to those that help them
get elected. And that's whereBrian stands apart. Brian has vowed
to do what's best for thepeople. And he's not just saying
(20:17):
that. All the, all theCongress people say that I'm for
the people and I will do thewill of the people when I get there.
And they get there and theychange their tone, because the bottom
line is you get there as aRepublican or Democrat, and you're
not going to stay there unlessyou bow down to the party and toe
(20:37):
the line and just shake yourhead yes when they tell you to shake
your head yes. And that'swhere Brian stands apart. And he
is, you know, as, you know,he's running as an independent and
he's not taking any moneyfrom, from large packs. And so when
he gets there, he has no oneto be holding to. And that's what
we need more of. But the, youknow, we play a big part, we being
(21:02):
the United States in feedingthe world. And, you know, the. We
really started to go downhillin the first Trump administration
when the tariffs went on. AndChina, and I have said it from day
one that when China pulls outof our soybean market and other markets,
(21:23):
they're not coming back. Andthat's exactly what they've done
since then, is looked veryhard and created other areas in the
world to buy their soybeansfrom. And we have nowhere near gotten
that market back, and it's notcoming back. So, you know, it's,
it's important that, you know,that we deal with the world in a
better manner that's beingdealt with now so that we have these
(21:45):
markets to sell our Products to.
And what does that mean for afarmer when a market goes away? Explain.
I don't want to get too indepth, but if you don't mind, what
happens when the Chinese stopbuying American soybeans? Where do
they go and what happens tothe price of your beans?
Right, So I mean, the, well,they go to South America for one
(22:06):
thing and they have, you know,China has, has put a lot of money
into the infrastructure in, inSouth America to build that, to build
them up and, and help them toproduce more. There are a lot of
acres in South America that,that are coming on online and every
(22:28):
year to grow more soybeans.And they're, they're clearing, you
know, clearing new land andplanting more soybeans. But what
it means to us as Americanfarmers is, I mean, it's somewhat
simplified in saying that it'sa supply demand thing. And if the,
and we're continuing, like Isay, from the precision standpoint
(22:49):
and an agronomical standpoint,our only way to make money and make
more money is to produce moreand more, you know, hopefully with
less. But so the more weproduce, we're increasing these yields
all the time. We're producingmore and losing markets like, like
the Chinese. There's only oneway for that, for that price to go
(23:11):
and that's, you know, that's,that's lower. So I guess that's,
you know, that's what it meansfrom our standpoint is it's, we have
to, we have to work hard toproduce more, more, you know, a bigger
return on investment. More,more bushels per acre. But when we're
losing that market, it simplymeans less, less value to our products.
(23:35):
Right. And, and that meanssome farmers are not going to make
it. Are you seeingforeclosures or failures yet?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
There's, there's, you know,the statistics are out there that
farm bankruptcies are, are,are, are up every year over year
here for the last number ofyears. And you know, it's, it's not
the, I guess I don't want totake a jab here at large, you know,
(23:58):
huge farms. But it's notnecessarily the large, you know,
corporate type farms that are,that are going out of business. It's
the family farms, the onesthat, you know, like mine that were
started by my grandfather, youknow, 100 and some years ago that
moved here from Norway to, youknow, to start a new life here. And
(24:19):
he started, started farming inSouth Dakota here. And that led to
my grandpa and to my dad andto me and now, to my son, those are
the farms, you know, that,that families have worked hard for.
Those are the farms that, thatare disappearing because they just
can't compete.
And you know, back when I wasin, you know, in Iowa, I'm out in
(24:40):
North Carolina now, by theway. Travis.
Oh, okay.
But I grew up in central Iowaand I remember, you know, we had
a couple farmer or a lot offarmers in the legislature, and I
was a page in the legislature.And so I got kind of an inside view
of that. Farmers were alwaysconsidered in every policy we made,
and it wasn't from a politicalstandpoint. Obviously. They wanted
(25:01):
to stay on the good side offarmers because farmers are a large
portion of the population inIowa. At least back then they were.
But to me right now, isanybody listening to the farmers?
I don't, I guess I don't wantto say nobody is, but very few are.
Yeah, I mean, and I guess it,it kind of blows my mind how, how
(25:24):
supportive farmers and the agcommunity has been of this current
administration. It's kind ofblown my mind from day one. But they,
you know, have not beensupportive of the agricultural community
all. And not just, you know,they talk a big talk. But the bottom
line is the policies they putforward are damaging to farmers.
(25:48):
So it, but no, for the mostpart, I mean, they're not. No, nobody's
listening. We have, you know,some, some big organizations that
are out there and they'resupposed to be speaking on our behalf
that, you know, most of us aremembers of the American Soybean association
and the Corn GrowersAssociation. Those guys are out there,
(26:08):
you know, promoting our, ourwork. But, but even, even, even they,
there was an incident not toolong ago where one of those organizations,
you know, spoke up against apolicy and that, that I thought needed
to be spoken for. And it, itfrustrated me as, as a lifetime member
(26:29):
of that organization. Buteven, even those organizations are,
are being, I guess I don'tnecessarily want to say corrupted,
but, you know, infiltratedwith, with, with big money and getting
influence from, from otherareas. So no, I think you're spot
on with, with the idea that,you know, the farmers viewpoints.
(26:49):
And nobody's really asking usor not nobody, but, you know, not
nearly enough are they askingus what's going on and, and what
can we do to help.
Well, that's a shame. And, andone way we can change that, folks,
is supporting Travis and myfriend Brian Bengs for United States
Senate in South Dakota. Youcan go to Bengs for South Dakota.
(27:12):
That's B E N G S for SouthDakota.com or vote ROI.com BB that's
a landing page to make adonation to Brian's campaign. As
we all know, money makes theworld go round, especially in a political
campaign. And it's reallycheap for Brian to get on the air.
And South Dakota, there'sessentially two markets, maybe three
(27:33):
with Omaha. But a smalldonation goes a long way for Brian
in South Dakota. So, Travis,let's wrap up on a positive note.
Any good stories about Brianthat you can remember or, I don't
know if you've been out on theroad with him or introduce him around
(27:54):
your community or, you know,positive. Let's end on a positive
note about Brian and hisability to connect with people regardless
of whether they're in SiouxFalls or Aberdeen or Wallace.
Sure. You know, Brian is a, isa down. I mean, I noticed that about
him from, from the time I methim a number of years ago that he
is, he is a down home guy.That's, that's not, you know, he's,
(28:17):
he's not conceited. He's not,he doesn't think. He's, he's, you
know, too good to talk topeople. Like, like a lot of the,
the politicians do. But yeah,I had a couple of, of meet and greets
with Brian when he, when heran the previous time and, and I,
I supported him in, in locallyin a couple of fourth of July parades,
(28:40):
I think, and things. And youknow, it's. I know there's a lot
of times when, you know, guyswould, people would ask me, you know,
like in, in the group, well,who's, who's Brian? And I think Brian
jokes about it too, but he'sthe one that, that's ahead above
everybody else. And so Brian,he's the tall guy over there. He's.
Brian's the tall guy. So whenyou, whenever pointing, pointing
(29:00):
out Brian to somebody, that's,that's how you point him out in the
crowd is, you know, Brian's,Brian's the tall guy, but just a
fantastic guy. And that's likeI said, really down home. And he,
you know, whenever we sit downand not too long ago we, he was doing
a petition signing inWatertown and I got together with
him and a couple of his staffguys afterwards and we had some pizza
(29:24):
and had a beer and justvisited. And he's just, he's eager
to learn. I mean, he, youknow, like a lot of the questions
you asked this morning, he'sasked many of those questions of
me from an ag Standpoint, hewants to learn these different industries
and like agriculture. And sohe's just very easy to talk to.
Well, that's great to hear.And, and you cannot win South Dakota
(29:44):
if you can't talk to farmers.And, and the best part about farmers
is their meter is on high andthey don't put up with anything,
any crap, that's for sure. So.Right. Yeah. They're the most engineer.
You know, I, I said threethings. There's a fourth. You guys
are the most ingenious peopleI've ever met too, you know. You
(30:07):
know what, A tractor's notoperate in the right way, you don't
run to town, you just fix ityour darn self. So.
Well, if you have the olderstuff like, like we do, you can.
But I know that's one of theareas that Brian stood up for. I
don't want to drag this outhere, but you know, being able to
work on your own equipment andso he stood up for farmers in, in
that way that some of thebrand new equipment, they've designed
(30:27):
it so that only the dealer canwork on it and.
Right.
I know that's an area thatBrian has spoke up for and so. But
yeah, on the older stuff, thatis we, we engineer plenty of things
that keep things going well.
Right. And. And if you'reever. Anything's ever broken down,
whether it's your lawnmower oryour back door, the best person to
(30:49):
get involved to fix it is afarmer. Trust me free. And they'll
do it well. So, Travis, it'sbeen a pleasure to talk to you. I
really appreciate you openingup a little bit on our mutual friend
Brian Bengs and your businessthere in South Dakota. I hope, hope
you guys are able to make a goof it. And it sounds like with your
(31:12):
son, Ethan, I think was hisname. Is that right?
Ethan. Correct.
Yep. Yeah. With Ethan there onthe farm and, and your wife and other
farm hands, I'm sure you guysare going to make a go of it. Let's
touch base again maybe laterin the fall because I'd be interested
to see where your head is onsome of these farming issues and
(31:33):
in South Dakota and elsewhere.But I really appreciate you taking
some time to visit with us, Travis.
Yeah, I appreciate theopportunity to, you know, to talk
about Brian here andabsolutely wish him the well and
just encourage people to getto know Brian because he wants to
get to know you.
Terrific. Yeah. And I wouldencourage folks again to go bright
(31:56):
to Bings B E N G S for SouthDakota dot com. You can donate there
or@voteroy.com BB and we'llput all this in the show notes. And
again, Travis Paulson, afarmer in Wallace, South Dakota,
with us today on mucu. Have agreat rest of your day, folks.
Hey folks, David Wheeler herewith MUCK YOU!. It's another episode
of the Brian Bengs week and wehave a guest from South Dakota today,
Travis Paulson. How are you, Travis?
Doing well, thank you, David.
Good. Where are you located?
So I'm, my hometown isWallace. Very small rural town. I'm
about 20 miles northwest ofWatertown, northeast part of the
(00:23):
state.
Okay. Wow, you're almost inNorth Dakota.
A bit, A bit from there. Anhour I could be there.
Yeah. All right. Well, yeah,people don't realize South Dakota
is really a big state. Fromwhere Brian lives down. I think he's
down in the south west corner. Correct.
(00:43):
Hot springs. Yeah. Out in theBlack Hill.
Yeah. So he's, he said he'ssix hours to Sioux Falls so that,
you know, that's pretty big state.
It is, yeah.
So tell us a little bit aboutyourself and your connection to Brian
and, and what you're doingthere in South Dakota.
Sure. So I'm so my backgroundactually my degree is in construction
(01:05):
management. I went to MankatoState University in, in the early
90s for, for constructionmanagement and, and received my degree
there. And actually I that. Sothat was, that was my plan for life
is to be in, in the managementpart of the construction industry.
And a handful of years laterin the year 2000, so 26 years ago
(01:28):
already my, my dad lost his,lost his battle to cancer. And so
I did a lot of soul searchingand decided that, that I was going
to come back and take over thefarm that I grew up on. So we moved
back here with small child andfamily and began took over the farm.
(01:51):
And so my background kind ofis twofold and when I did move back,
I like I said, took over thefarm and I also started a business
designing and building customhomes as a project manager and as
a general contractor. So didboth of those for a number of years.
So I have a background in bothin home building and in agriculture.
(02:17):
So number of years after thatit just got to be too difficult to
run both businesses and to doboth. It was with children, three
kids and two careers. It wasjust a little much. And I did get
the opportunity to expand thefarm and gain some acres and so I
(02:40):
did that and let the buildinggo it. So that's just in a nutshell,
that's, that's kind of mybackground. So for the last 26 years
I've. I've been farming the,the family farm here.
Wow, that's a lot of historyand a lot of ups and downs and sideways.
I'm sure for sure yeah, yeah,you know, I, folks, folks know. Listeners
(03:02):
on MUCU know I'm a formerIowan. I'm not a farmer. My dad used
to work farms on summers whenhe was out of school up in Centerpoint,
Iowa. And I grew up withfarmers. They're all wrestlers, but
tough guys, but good naturedfolks for the most part and have
(03:22):
deep respect for farmers andfolks that make their living off
the land. So tell us a littlebit about your farm and I guess what
do you produce and how big is it?
Yeah, so we mainly row cropfarmers. So we, my, my son and I
(03:45):
raise corn and soybeans andalso hay. So that's, we don't have
any, any livestock. So it'sjust, just the row crop. And then
in the last year here, my sonand I, which we've been planning,
I guess for the last couple ofyears and kind of building, we launched,
Launch. Launched an agronomicbusiness that, that kind of went,
(04:07):
kind of went live here aboutJanuary 1st of this year. We, we
kind of started full timedoing that. So he graduated. My son
graduated from South DakotaState University. Jackrabbit's there
with a degree in, in precisionag and a couple of minors, agronomy
and ag business. And so like Isaid, we've kind of been planning
(04:30):
to launch this when he, youknow, upon his graduation. So he's
been very active in the farm.But so, so we're doing that as well
here. Just kind of, kind ofbuilding, starting slow and building.
But we're looking forward to,to really moving that forward. So
from an agronomic and an agbusiness standpoint, as well as the
ag production side.
Cool. So how many acres areyou working?
(04:52):
I've got about 1500 acres.
Oh, my goodness. Wow, that's.That's a pretty big farm. Well, it's
not big compared to thecorporate farms that are out.
Not anymore it's not.
Yeah, well, when I was a kid,you know, we used to walk beans and,
you know, get out the rogueplants, and I don't think we walked
1500 acres. Goodness sakes. SoI worked for my summers. I'd worked
(05:16):
for DeKalb, you know, as akid, which I would never recommend.
I mean, it's the worst, as youknow. That is tough, tough work.
Right? So tell us, tell me a little.
Bit more about your. We'lltalk about Brian Bengs here in a
minute, but I'm fascinated byyour agronomics business. Tell me
more about that. And where canfolks go learn more if they're interested?
(05:37):
Well, I appreciate that. Soyeah, actually we're. So for the
last about eight years we gotinvolved with precision planting,
which is, which is a hugeinternational company now that, that,
that specializes in, in theprecision side of, of agriculture
planters and, and sprayersand, and all kinds of applicators
and different precisionelectronic precision equipment. So
(06:01):
we have, we started puttingthe precision stuff on our planter
about eight years ago andwe've continued to expand it. And
so both my son Ethan and Ihave, have had several years of experience
dealing with, with theprecision side. So we are the premier
precision planting dealer inthe area here. It's kind of an open
area, so it fits well.There's, we're kind of in a hole
(06:23):
here where there isn't aprecision planting dealer. And so
farmers that, that haveprecision products have to have to
travel a ways or if they needservice calls, they, they've got
to have somebody come quite aways to help them. So it's, it's
a good fit for us. Ethan likeI say, just received his degree in
precision ag. So, but, so weare a precision planning dealer.
(06:45):
We sell and service and buildplanters and sell parts and service
and, and then on the secondhalf of our business we. Another
thing that we've been activein a number of years is liquid fertility.
We've been kind of in, inconjunction with the precision planning,
the application method. So we,we I guess like to say that we, we
(07:06):
sell the equipment, the bestequipment to apply seed and fertility
and then we sell the fertilityto go along with it. So we work mainly
with a company in Kentuckycalled Mutiny Crop Performance and
I guess a couple other verywell respected agronomists that,
that offer a line of, of kindof biological and micronutrients
(07:31):
and I mean just all kinds ofwell renowned liquid fertility products.
So we like, like the idea,that kind of the environmental idea
of putting, putting thefertility right in the ground, you
know, right near the seedwhere it needs to be, rather than
spreading it out all over thefield. So, so that's kind of, I guess
(07:51):
it's not much of a nutshell Ikind of carried on there, but the
precision planning and liquidfertility to go with it. So that's,
that's kind of what theagronomic business is about.
Well, it's, I think it's, Ithink it's fascinating and I think
our listeners will beinterested to learn more about this.
Do you, do you guys have awebsite or anything?
Yeah, of course. Yep, we do.So it's, and it's the name of the
(08:14):
company is YieldmaxAgronomics. And so it's just simply
yieldmaxagronomics.com.
Okay, cool. Well, for anybodythat's interested in learning a little
bit more about progressivethinking in ag, check that out. These
guys are on. Sounds likeyou're on the leading edge of technology
and some of the bio productswithin ag as well. So let's pivot,
(08:39):
if you don't mind, to ourfriend, mutual friend, Brian Bengs.
How do you know Brian?
So I met Brian when he was. Hewas running for office for the US
Senate in, well before yearsago, in 2022. Got to, got to know
Brian a little bit andsupported his campaign at that time.
(09:00):
And the more I got to knowBrian, the more I realized we have
a very similar way of thinkingand similar concepts of how we think
the government should run andhow we as far as value system. The
more we talk, the more Idecide that we're really on the same
(09:23):
page with a lot of thosethings. So yeah, our relationship
launched and in 2022 there and2122 and, and I was very supportive
of his campaign then and soif, if grown to, to be a friend of,
of Brian's and we like I saywe're just very much on the same
page the more we talk.
Well, hopefully he's on thesame page with a lot more South Dakotans
(09:46):
this time. It sounds like he'sdoing pretty well. Tell me about,
without. I don't want to gettoo personal, but you say you've
got similar values and tell meabout what you see in Brian and,
and the values that you see inhim. We're trying to get folks to
know Brian a little bit betterand, and you seem to take in a shine
(10:08):
to him when he was acandidate. And so I think you've
got some credibility on this.Where do you see and what do you
see in Brian?
So the biggest thing, I don'tknow about the biggest thing, but
one of the first things Iguess that come to mind is, is, I
mean we're, we both agree andI, and I think a lot of people agree
that we're very uncomfortablewith the direction that our country
(10:32):
is going here as far as, asfar as government goes. It just,
it isn't the country that,that our founding fathers designed
it to be, in my opinion. Andit just, and I think the. So that
you know that that's thebiggest thing. But there it just
seems like the, the moralcharacter of our country and of our
(10:57):
government is going the wrongway. And you know, that's one of
the main areas that Brian andI agree on. And there's several pieces
that go into that, but I justthink it continues to get worse here.
And until we make some seriouschanges, that's not going to, it's
not going to turn around andimprove here. And I think, you know,
(11:21):
we need honesty and integrity.Those are two things that we need
in our, in our government andwe're just, we're losing it. And
I think that the two partysystem is promoting those, the party
politics that are doing thatand both parties are responsible
for it. The party that's inpower in Washington right now, I
(11:44):
think is, is very responsiblefor it and is supporting, you know,
the kind of behavior that,that Brian and I both, you know,
are not okay with. So that's,I guess what comes to mind first.
Well, I, I think you're goingto get a lot of heads nodding in
agreement from our listenershere on mucu. And let me just remind
(12:05):
folks, we're talking to TravisPaulson who's in Wallace, South Dakota,
a farmer and in the agbusiness and a friend of Brian Bang's
during Brian Bang's week hereon mucu. So you're, you're in ag,
you're deep into ag, you're inag country. Probably couldn't be
in more, more of a farmingarea in this country. What, what's
(12:30):
on the minds of farmers, youknow, without getting too deep into
politics. But you know, what,what are you hearing from your customers
and from your fellow farmersthere in South Dakota about, you
know, a little bit more on,you know, where they think the country's
headed and the problems thatag is facing right now?
(12:51):
Well, the, the mostdisappointing thing is and frustrating
is it seems like we in thisindustry continue to, to work harder,
but you know, we need to finda way to work smarter. But the, the
really disappointing aspect isthat we work extremely hard year
(13:13):
round and for a good chunk ofthe year, a lot of us are working
seven days a week to produce acrop that's robust and safe. And
at the end of the year, thereare years that we don't make anything.
We actually lose money after,after working, working hard, diligently
(13:37):
for an entire year. Andthere's so many ups and downs, but
it's getting more and moredifficult to make a living doing
this. And you know, this usedto be, I, I remember conversations
with my grandpa many years agoand he would talk about, you know,
one story he told was, was hebought a piece of land once, I don't
know, you Know when it was, ifit was in the, the forties maybe
(13:59):
or something. And his dadthought he was just crazy for what
he, for what he paid for it.And he, he said he, he planted flax
to it that first year and hesaid he had a, a bumper flax crop
and, and there was a goodprice for flax that year and he,
he paid off the land after oneyear of farming it. And it, and it's
(14:21):
just crazy to think thatnowadays that, I mean, the price
of land is such that you can'tget a return on the investment anymore.
I mean, you can't make. Itjust, it doesn't pencil out. It's
not going to pay for itself.So it's become really disappointing,
like I say, to work hard allyear long and make very little if
(14:45):
not losing money.
And what is in your area, whatis an acre of cropland these days?
Well, there was a sale not toolong ago, I guess, and a, a quarter
of land, 160 acres of landsold for over $12,000 an acre.
Holy guacamole.
Yeah. And that, that was justa handful of miles from me here.
(15:09):
So. And I know, you know, downin your area or down in, you know,
in the Iowa area, there's manysales for 15 to 20,000 and over $20,000
an acre. And that's, there'sone way that, that's going to, that,
that pencils out so.
Right. And what's that, what'sdriving that price?
I mean, there are, I'd like tosay that they're just investors and,
(15:32):
you know, very wealthy peoplethat, that are buying it for hunting
and those things. But it's,it's not, it's. A lot of them are
farmers and I think they'refarmers that have old money that
have paid for land and they'reinvesting in the future of future
generations, you know, theirgrandkids and their grandkids, kids,
(15:53):
so that they have land tofarm. But you know, the biggest thing
is land is one of those thingsthat we're never going to get any
more of. So it's, you know,you can't make more land. And so
I think that's just to keepthese farms going, they have to get
bigger. And that's, you know,when we started this out and the
number of acres and like Isaid, it's my size of farm is not
(16:17):
very big anymore at all. Soyou gotta keep getting bigger or
you don't keep up.
Right, right. And I think oneof the things, you know, you touched
on the business of Farming.You know, I don't know much about
farming at all, but I knowthree things. Number one, it's darn
hard work and you're up beforethe sun rises and many times coming
(16:38):
home when the sun's comingdown or dark already. The second
thing I don't think peoplerealize is, you know, it's a very
dangerous business too. It'snot like, you know, you're out there
with a hoe and a rake. I meanyou're out there with some really
heavy equipment. Many timesfolks are raising livestock. That's
not easy. And thirdly, I don'tthink realize people really understand
(17:00):
that you guys are smallbusiness, not small, sometimes big
businesses, but you guys arebusinesses. You're not just guys
out there, you know, milk andcows to have milk on the table. You
know, these are big importantbusinesses to this country. And I
think farmers many times aremisunderstood. You know. What are
your thoughts on those three areas?
(17:23):
It absolutely is. I meananybody that I remember years ago,
you know, just explaining justto, to, to some friends of mine and
you know, they were, I can'tremember if it was planting or harvest.
I think it was planting seasonand they were asking questions and
they had no idea, you know,the, what goes into planting an acre
(17:45):
of corn. Both, I guess the,you know, from the precision side
we had, we have, have a lot oftechnology going into it. But they
had no idea. He said, youknow, I, I just thought you, you
stuck corn in the ground andthen waited till fall and harvested
it. But the, I mean there isso much more that goes into it and,
and it is absolutely abusiness. I spend plenty of time
(18:05):
in the office, you know, aswell. So you have to, and if you're,
if you're not watching yourcosts and, and knowing what your
break even costs are andknowing when to, you know, when to
sell the grain and when to buythe inputs. And there is a lot that
goes into it. So yeah, ifyou're not managing it like a business,
(18:27):
it's, you're, you're, you're,you're probably not going to do well.
Yeah. And your, your son Ethancoming back into the family farm
is an anomaly. I mean a lot ofkids obviously come off the farm
and, and go to college or goto the cities. So good on him for
coming back to help dad andmom with farm and, and investing
(18:49):
his time and effort there.He's probably coming in at a good
time in that this technology'sgoing to take off and the company
that you've aligned yourselfwith is going to grow significantly,
too. So, all right, let'spivot back to Brian Bengs again.
So let's say Brian getselected, which I think he has the
(19:09):
opportunity to, and it's, it'sa tough road to hoe, but, you know,
there is a path there if wecan get this Democrat to stand down.
What sort of things in the agspace or even broader than that are
you looking at? Are you hopingBrian will tackle?
I think, you know, one of thethings that is really dragging our
(19:31):
economy of agriculture downright now is obviously foreign relations.
And we need congresspeople inWashington that understand that and
that are answering or, youknow, taking actions congressionally
that actually benefit thepeople and not the people that are
(19:54):
funding their campaigns. Andthat's what's going on right now
is we have far too manycongressmen and like I said, on both
sides of the aisle that arebeholden to those that help them
get elected. And that's whereBrian stands apart. Brian has vowed
to do what's best for thepeople. And he's not just saying
(20:17):
that. All the, all theCongress people say that I'm for
the people and I will do thewill of the people when I get there.
And they get there and theychange their tone, because the bottom
line is you get there as aRepublican or Democrat, and you're
not going to stay there unlessyou bow down to the party and toe
(20:37):
the line and just shake yourhead yes when they tell you to shake
your head yes. And that'swhere Brian stands apart. And he
is, you know, as, you know,he's running as an independent and
he's not taking any moneyfrom, from large packs. And so when
he gets there, he has no oneto be holding to. And that's what
we need more of. But the, youknow, we play a big part, we being
(21:02):
the United States in feedingthe world. And, you know, the. We
really started to go downhillin the first Trump administration
when the tariffs went on. AndChina, and I have said it from day
one that when China pulls outof our soybean market and other markets,
(21:23):
they're not coming back. Andthat's exactly what they've done
since then, is looked veryhard and created other areas in the
world to buy their soybeansfrom. And we have nowhere near gotten
that market back, and it's notcoming back. So, you know, it's,
it's important that, you know,that we deal with the world in a
better manner that's beingdealt with now so that we have these
(21:45):
markets to sell our Products to.
And what does that mean for afarmer when a market goes away? Explain.
I don't want to get too indepth, but if you don't mind, what
happens when the Chinese stopbuying American soybeans? Where do
they go and what happens tothe price of your beans?
Right, So I mean, the, well,they go to South America for one
(22:06):
thing and they have, you know,China has, has put a lot of money
into the infrastructure in, inSouth America to build that, to build
them up and, and help them toproduce more. There are a lot of
acres in South America that,that are coming on online and every
(22:28):
year to grow more soybeans.And they're, they're clearing, you
know, clearing new land andplanting more soybeans. But what
it means to us as Americanfarmers is, I mean, it's somewhat
simplified in saying that it'sa supply demand thing. And if the,
and we're continuing, like Isay, from the precision standpoint
(22:49):
and an agronomical standpoint,our only way to make money and make
more money is to produce moreand more, you know, hopefully with
less. But so the more weproduce, we're increasing these yields
all the time. We're producingmore and losing markets like, like
the Chinese. There's only oneway for that, for that price to go
(23:11):
and that's, you know, that's,that's lower. So I guess that's,
you know, that's what it meansfrom our standpoint is it's, we have
to, we have to work hard toproduce more, more, you know, a bigger
return on investment. More,more bushels per acre. But when we're
losing that market, it simplymeans less, less value to our products.
(23:35):
Right. And, and that meanssome farmers are not going to make
it. Are you seeingforeclosures or failures yet?
Absolutely.
Yeah.
There's, there's, you know,the statistics are out there that
farm bankruptcies are, are,are, are up every year over year
here for the last number ofyears. And you know, it's, it's not
the, I guess I don't want totake a jab here at large, you know,
(23:58):
huge farms. But it's notnecessarily the large, you know,
corporate type farms that are,that are going out of business. It's
the family farms, the onesthat, you know, like mine that were
started by my grandfather, youknow, 100 and some years ago that
moved here from Norway to, youknow, to start a new life here. And
(24:19):
he started, started farming inSouth Dakota here. And that led to
my grandpa and to my dad andto me and now, to my son, those are
the farms, you know, that,that families have worked hard for.
Those are the farms that, thatare disappearing because they just
can't compete.
And you know, back when I wasin, you know, in Iowa, I'm out in
(24:40):
North Carolina now, by theway. Travis.
Oh, okay.
But I grew up in central Iowaand I remember, you know, we had
a couple farmer or a lot offarmers in the legislature, and I
was a page in the legislature.And so I got kind of an inside view
of that. Farmers were alwaysconsidered in every policy we made,
and it wasn't from a politicalstandpoint. Obviously. They wanted
(25:01):
to stay on the good side offarmers because farmers are a large
portion of the population inIowa. At least back then they were.
But to me right now, isanybody listening to the farmers?
I don't, I guess I don't wantto say nobody is, but very few are.
Yeah, I mean, and I guess it,it kind of blows my mind how, how
(25:24):
supportive farmers and the agcommunity has been of this current
administration. It's kind ofblown my mind from day one. But they,
you know, have not beensupportive of the agricultural community
all. And not just, you know,they talk a big talk. But the bottom
line is the policies they putforward are damaging to farmers.
(25:48):
So it, but no, for the mostpart, I mean, they're not. No, nobody's
listening. We have, you know,some, some big organizations that
are out there and they'resupposed to be speaking on our behalf
that, you know, most of us aremembers of the American Soybean association
and the Corn GrowersAssociation. Those guys are out there,
(26:08):
you know, promoting our, ourwork. But, but even, even, even they,
there was an incident not toolong ago where one of those organizations,
you know, spoke up against apolicy and that, that I thought needed
to be spoken for. And it, itfrustrated me as, as a lifetime member
(26:29):
of that organization. Buteven, even those organizations are,
are being, I guess I don'tnecessarily want to say corrupted,
but, you know, infiltratedwith, with, with big money and getting
influence from, from otherareas. So no, I think you're spot
on with, with the idea that,you know, the farmers viewpoints.
(26:49):
And nobody's really asking usor not nobody, but, you know, not
nearly enough are they askingus what's going on and, and what
can we do to help.
Well, that's a shame. And, andone way we can change that, folks,
is supporting Travis and myfriend Brian Bengs for United States
Senate in South Dakota. Youcan go to Bengs for South Dakota.
(27:12):
That's B E N G S for SouthDakota.com or vote ROI.com BB that's
a landing page to make adonation to Brian's campaign. As
we all know, money makes theworld go round, especially in a political
campaign. And it's reallycheap for Brian to get on the air.
And South Dakota, there'sessentially two markets, maybe three
(27:33):
with Omaha. But a smalldonation goes a long way for Brian
in South Dakota. So, Travis,let's wrap up on a positive note.
Any good stories about Brianthat you can remember or, I don't
know if you've been out on theroad with him or introduce him around
(27:54):
your community or, you know,positive. Let's end on a positive
note about Brian and hisability to connect with people regardless
of whether they're in SiouxFalls or Aberdeen or Wallace.
Sure. You know, Brian is a, isa down. I mean, I noticed that about
him from, from the time I methim a number of years ago that he
is, he is a down home guy.That's, that's not, you know, he's,
(28:17):
he's not conceited. He's not,he doesn't think. He's, he's, you
know, too good to talk topeople. Like, like a lot of the,
the politicians do. But yeah,I had a couple of, of meet and greets
with Brian when he, when heran the previous time and, and I,
I supported him in, in locallyin a couple of fourth of July parades,
(28:40):
I think, and things. And youknow, it's. I know there's a lot
of times when, you know, guyswould, people would ask me, you know,
like in, in the group, well,who's, who's Brian? And I think Brian
jokes about it too, but he'sthe one that, that's ahead above
everybody else. And so Brian,he's the tall guy over there. He's.
Brian's the tall guy. So whenyou, whenever pointing, pointing
(29:00):
out Brian to somebody, that's,that's how you point him out in the
crowd is, you know, Brian's,Brian's the tall guy, but just a
fantastic guy. And that's likeI said, really down home. And he,
you know, whenever we sit downand not too long ago we, he was doing
a petition signing inWatertown and I got together with
him and a couple of his staffguys afterwards and we had some pizza
(29:24):
and had a beer and justvisited. And he's just, he's eager
to learn. I mean, he, youknow, like a lot of the questions
you asked this morning, he'sasked many of those questions of
me from an ag Standpoint, hewants to learn these different industries
and like agriculture. And sohe's just very easy to talk to.
Well, that's great to hear.And, and you cannot win South Dakota
(29:44):
if you can't talk to farmers.And, and the best part about farmers
is their meter is on high andthey don't put up with anything,
any crap, that's for sure. So.Right. Yeah. They're the most engineer.
You know, I, I said threethings. There's a fourth. You guys
are the most ingenious peopleI've ever met too, you know. You
(30:07):
know what, A tractor's notoperate in the right way, you don't
run to town, you just fix ityour darn self. So.
Well, if you have the olderstuff like, like we do, you can.
But I know that's one of theareas that Brian stood up for. I
don't want to drag this outhere, but you know, being able to
work on your own equipment andso he stood up for farmers in, in
that way that some of thebrand new equipment, they've designed
(30:27):
it so that only the dealer canwork on it and.
Right.
I know that's an area thatBrian has spoke up for and so. But
yeah, on the older stuff, thatis we, we engineer plenty of things
that keep things going well.
Right. And. And if you'reever. Anything's ever broken down,
whether it's your lawnmower oryour back door, the best person to
(30:49):
get involved to fix it is afarmer. Trust me free. And they'll
do it well. So, Travis, it'sbeen a pleasure to talk to you. I
really appreciate you openingup a little bit on our mutual friend
Brian Bengs and your businessthere in South Dakota. I hope, hope
you guys are able to make a goof it. And it sounds like with your
(31:12):
son, Ethan, I think was hisname. Is that right?
Ethan. Correct.
Yep. Yeah. With Ethan there onthe farm and, and your wife and other
farm hands, I'm sure you guysare going to make a go of it. Let's
touch base again maybe laterin the fall because I'd be interested
to see where your head is onsome of these farming issues and
(31:33):
in South Dakota and elsewhere.But I really appreciate you taking
some time to visit with us, Travis.
Yeah, I appreciate theopportunity to, you know, to talk
about Brian here andabsolutely wish him the well and
just encourage people to getto know Brian because he wants to
get to know you.
Terrific. Yeah. And I wouldencourage folks again to go bright
(31:56):
to Bings B E N G S for SouthDakota dot com. You can donate there
or@voteroy.com BB and we'llput all this in the show notes. And
again, Travis Paulson, afarmer in Wallace, South Dakota,
with us today on mucu. Have agreat rest of your day, folks.
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